Redfern family
The Redferns are a patriarchal family of lamia vampires descended from the first lamia vampire, Red Fern. They act as the ruling clan among the lamia, and are represented among the Night World council by the current head, Hunter Redfern. History Prehistoric Times The progenitor of the Redfern family was Maya, a former witch and the twin sister of Hellewise Hearth-Woman. Maya sought immortality and performed a spell that required drinking the blood of four babies to achieve this. She succeeded, but had to constantly drink blood to sustain herself; becoming the first made vampire and ancestress of the entire species. With an unknown man, Maya had a son called Red Fern, the first lamia vampire, who fathered the Redfern line. However, because of Maya's ruthless ambitions and killing of innocent people, she and her son were driven from the witch tribe by Hellewise in the very first Night War, beginning the blood-feud between the vampires and witches that would last for centuries. 1600s After coming to power as head of the Redferns, Hunter had a son, Chervil. However, he and Chervil quarrelled, and the younger Redfern disappeared, leaving Hunter without a legitimate heir. Ultimately, to end the Night Wars and (in Hunter's case) provide the Redfern line with a true male successor, the matriarch of the Harmans, Maeve, and the patriarch of the Redferns agreed to conduct a blood-tie ceremony, followed by marriage. This had the effect of making all future Redferns part-witch, and to consider Harman descendants as their relatives. Hunter and Maeve had four daughters: Garnet Redfern, Dove Redfern, Lily Redfern and Roseclear Harman. Due to having no male children, Garnet's offspring were permitted to keep the Redfern surname by Hunter; all modern Redferns are descended from her. Hunter additionally made John Quinn his legal heir after converting him into a made vampire and adopting him into the Redfern family. Hunter is also credited for creating island enclaves, for lamia vampires and other Nightpeople to find safety from humans. Meanwhile, Chervil Redfern would go on to establish the Dark Kingdom in Colorado, and would sire a son, Tormentil, who in turn became the father of Delos, continuing the male Redfern lineage. Modern Day The Redferns retained their hold over the Night World and its citizens. However, it was found that while the Old Powers began reviving, many members of the Redfern line and its offshoot branches were finding soulmates among humans, a species considered by all Nightpeople as "vermin"; the same was happening to their Harman kin. The majority of the elder Redferns, particularly Hunter, found this intolerable and sought to exterminate those family members who had broken Night World law and fallen in love with mortals. This may have had the effect of de-stabilizing the Redfern family line, as Hunter had lost his descendants as well as Quinn to the Soulmate Prinicple. Hunter attempted to revive his family's prestige, first by trying to host a blood-feast to unite with the made vampires. Having failed that, he tried again when he discovered his descendants through Chervil, finally meeting his great-grandson Delos. However, Delos also found a human soulmate, Maggie Neely; in response Hunter usurped Delos's power and ordered his execution. Fortunately, Delos was able, with aid from Aradia and the witch Sylvia Weald, to regain control of his abilities as a Wild Power and destroy Hunter. With the deaths of Hunter and his remaining daughter Lily, it is unknown where the Redfern Family stands in current Nightworld politics, especially as Hunter had no official heirs left by the time of his death. Members *Red Fern (progenitor; the first lamia vampire) *Hunter Redfern *Chervil Redfern *Garnet Redfern (despite marrying out of the family, Hunter legalized her offspring to bear the Redfern surname) *Lily Redfern *Dove Redfern *Tormentil Redfern *Delos Redfern *Alder Redfern (father of Rowan, Ash, Kestrel, and Jade) *Rowan Redfern *Ash Redfern *Kestrel Redfern *Jade Redfern *Bracken Redfern (uncle of Jez Redfern) *Jezebel "Jez" Redfern *Elodie Blackthorn (Alder Redfern's wife, mother of Rowan, Ash, Kestrel and Jade; Redfern by marriage) Relative Families *Maya Dragonslayer (first made vampire, mother of Red Fern) *Jaspar Rasmussen (husband of Madder Redfern-Rasmussen, father of James) *Madder Redfern-Rasmussen (Jaspar Rasmussen's wife, mother of James; although a Redfern by blood, due to the lamia being a patriarchy she is counted among the Rasmussens by marriage) *Opal Redfern-Burdock (Hodge Burdock's wife; Redfern by blood) *Hodge Burdock (husband of Opal Redfern-Burdock) *James Rasmussen *The Harman Family Trivia *The Redfern family is named after Red Fern, son of Maya Dragonslayer. *Members of the Redfern family, as well as the Harman Family, seem to be the main targets of The Soulmate Principle. This is presumably to make the Night World aware of the rising Old Powers. Category:Families Category:Vampires